- 24th October 2024 |
- 4 minutes
Home >> Insights >> Content Hub >> Winning the Play: How Marketers, Like the Chiefs, Are Dominating Live Events and Finding New Audiences
How Marketers Are Scoring New Audiences with the NFL Playbook
From the Gridiron to the Global Stage: How Advertisers, Like NFL Teams, Are Adapting to Capture New Audiences...
Adapting to Win: Lessons from the Gridiron and the Marketing Arena
In a game of inches, where every move counts, NFL teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers know the importance of adapting to win. The Chiefs’ recent Super Bowl rematch victory, spearheaded by Patrick Mahomes’ bold runs and strategic plays, mirrored the ever-evolving landscape advertisers find themselves in today. Just like these teams, brands must constantly innovate their strategies to capture new audiences, often under unpredictable circumstances.
Expanding the Playing Field: Brands and the NFL's Global Push
The NFL has long recognized the need to expand beyond its core American fanbase, venturing into international markets with games in London and Mexico City. This push for global dominance is no different than the challenge advertisers face as they strive to reach consumers across increasingly fragmented digital platforms. Brands today are chasing new audiences on connected TV (CTV), social media, and live-streaming events—just as the NFL moves beyond U.S. borders to find fans in places like the United Kingdom, where teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars have built a loyal following.
Real-Time Pivots: How Marketers and NFL Teams Win by Adjusting Strategies
Much like Mahomes' instinctive ability to find running lanes, advertisers must constantly shift tactics in real-time to connect with elusive audiences.
In Sunday’s game, Mahomes struggled through interceptions but pivoted with smart decisions, like his 33-yard rush, to set up critical scoring opportunities. Similarly, advertisers today need to navigate the complexities of cross-media platforms. They must optimize not just for reach but for engagement, as consumers hop between traditional TV, CTV, and social media. This requires a playbook focused on cross-platform measurement, ensuring they can see where each new audience is coming from and how their message is landing.
Controlling the Clock: Mastering Audience Attention Across Multiple Screens
The evolution of NFL strategies mirrors what’s happening in advertising.
During the Chiefs-49ers game, adjustments were key—San Francisco lost momentum when key players like Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk left the game, forcing them to rethink their offense. Advertisers, too, must adapt on the fly when one strategy falters. This is especially crucial in live events, like the Super Bowl, where real-time adjustments can make or break a campaign’s success. As brands strive to engage across multiple screens and reach diverse demographics, they’re moving beyond traditional linear TV strategies and embracing a data-driven approach that combines CTV, digital video, traditional TV, and out-of-home (OOH) advertising. This combination of diverse ad inventory, coupled with a new wave of precision measurement, introduces a fresh level of flexibility that has become the cornerstone of ad effectiveness, allowing brands to extend their reach and significantly enhance their impact.
Precision and Reach: The New Game Plan for Marketers in Live Events
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s drive to expand international games reflects advertisers’ pursuit of untapped markets. The NFL’s strategy to host regular season games across Europe—perhaps even a future international Super Bowl—parallels brands’ efforts to go beyond their core audiences. Advertisers today are no longer content with reaching the same viewers; they want to be where the action is, whether that’s on CTV during a live event, on social media feeds, or across global platforms.
Marching Down the Field: Building Comprehensive Strategies Across Platforms
The Chiefs secured their victory by dominating time of possession, controlling the clock for over 35 minutes. In the same way, advertisers seek to maximize their share of consumer attention across the right platforms. This means not just throwing big-budget ads into the Super Bowl but fine-tuning every impression, ensuring that each message—whether it’s on a mobile device, laptop, or smart TV—lands at the perfect moment. For both advertisers and NFL teams, success lies in finding new strategies to extend their reach, maintain engagement, and adapt quickly in an ever-changing landscape.
The Real Touchdown: Winning with Adaptation and Innovation
As the NFL explores new markets, brands too are redefining what it means to engage with their audiences. In the way Mahomes engineered a 79-yard drive to set up a pivotal fourth-quarter touchdown, brands must now build comprehensive, cross-platform strategies to “march down the field” and score with consumers. With CTV and digital media becoming dominant forces, the winners will be those who can harness both the precision of real-time data and the broad reach of traditional media, just as NFL teams balance aggressive play calls with smart clock management.
Ultimately, whether it’s a quarterback leading his team to victory or a brand executing a flawless cross-platform ad campaign, the game remains the same: adapt, adjust, and seize the moment. In both sports and advertising, the teams and brands that master the art of adaptation will always be the ones to dominate the field.
By Ian Alastair Hobkirk
Digital Marketing Manager
Request Free Demo
Try a tailored single-source audience measurement solution to start improving your cross-media ROI.
